# Visa Inc
### NYSE:V
View full report here!
## Summary
* Bearish sentiment is moderate and increasing
## Bearish sentiment
Short interest | Negative
Short interest is moderately high for V with between 10 and 15% of shares outstanding currently on loan. This represents an increase in short interest as investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices added to their short positions on January 17.
## Money flow
ETF/Index ownership | Neutral
ETF activity is neutral. The net inflows of $5.53 billion over the last one-month into ETFs that hold V are not among the highest of the last year and have been slowing.
## Economic sentiment
PMI by IHS Markit | Neutral
According to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, output in the Financials sector is rising. The rate of growth is weak relative to the trend shown over the past year, however.
## Credit worthiness
Credit default swap
CDS data is not available for this security.
Please send all inquiries related to the report to score@ihsmarkit.com.
Charts and report PDFs will only be available for 30 days after publishing.
This document has been produced for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon or as construed as investment advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IHS Markit disclaims any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), equity or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on or the use of this material in any way. Please view the full legal disclaimer and methodology information on pages 2-3 of the full report.

After a terribly difficult year for stocks, 2019 started on a better note. Sellers are no longer in control and the S&P 500 is up 5% this year and up 10% off the Christmas lows. Although, the sellers are doing a decent job this morning on American Express (NYSE:AXP) stock, down 2.5%.
But therein lies the opportunity.
AXP reported earnings last night and investors did not like what they saw. I disagree with the sellers, so this is a buying opportunity for the long term. The experts on Wall Streets agree, since the stock is still trading well below their average price targets.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
### Where AXP Stock Stands
Up until a week ago, traders believed that financial stocks could not rally. But that is starting to change lately -- they have recently bought bank stocks up with both hands. This is thanks to good reactions to the Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) earnings reports. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) is up more than 4% in the past 5 days on top of a 10% bounce off the December lows.
* 7 Retail Stocks to Buy for the Rise of Menswear
However, AXP stock this morning is not getting the love that the others did this week. Perhaps the disappointing Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) report on Thursday morning soured the mood a little on Wall Street. America Express did miss slightly on both earnings and revenues, but nothing that damages its sustainable bullish thesis.
AXP is not a bank, but credit card stocks do often trade alongside the traditional financial centers. American Express is financial technology stock, or FinTech, and those are faster movers than banks.
Consider one extreme stock of the bunch, Square (NYSE:SQ) stock, which is up 72% in the past year. Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) are up 13%, 20% and 9% respectively for the same period. American Express stock is lagging, down 1%, so it has some catching up to do. This is reason number one to own it now -- while it still lags.
Yes, they disappointed the Street with their earnings, but if the stock market is going higher this year then AXP will recover and rally along. Management stated yesterday that they "are starting 2019 in a position of strength." This is confidence that I can bank on, and the second reason to buy.
Thirdly and perhaps the reason with the biggest upside potential on the stock is China. The tariff war has been terrifying to Wall Street but it also presents a great opportunity for AXP stock. Part of its effort to resolve the face-off with the U.S., China is likely to open its doors to U.S. companies.
American Express has the best chance to be the first U.S. mover into a massive market, having already received preliminary approval. It will be competing with Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA) Alipay and Tencent (TCEHY), but it is up to the task and will be a growth market for it.
Last night, management delivered decent guidance for 2019 but lacked the wow-factor. They raised their full year revenues but kept the same range on earnings per share. These days, investors want to see upgrades in guidance. But in the face of so much uncertainty, a cautious management team is a smart one. They are aware and realistic of opportunities and pitfalls.
The bottom line and as long as stocks are rising, AXP stock dips are buying opportunities in upwards moving markets.
There are some negatives like a slight increase in provisions for losses but nothing too alarming. After all we are in a rate hike cycle and this is when things can go wrong, but this is not 2008. We don't have flagrant systemic risk. Today's stocks prices are better founded with much less froth.
The negative reaction last night and this morning are too extreme. America Express stock is too good to be punished this harshly on a tepid report.
Nevertheless, the short-term reaction to earnings events are always binary so they don't matter much over time. So luckily they are just that, short term. With time the good fundamentals will prevail over this temporary tantrum.
For any bullish trade to work out we first need the macro-economic environment to allow for it. This year we are eliminating the major reasons that plagued the bulls last year. Recently the Federal Reserve assured us that they won't invert the yield curve on purpose. Now we only need to eliminate the tariff war threat. The rhetoric on that front are also improving as both sides are showing signs of lenience.
Click here for a bonus video on Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) stock. This is a wild one but there are clues. Nicolas Chahine is the managing director of SellSpreads.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him as @racernic on Twitter and Stocktwits.
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The post American Express Stock Dips Are Buying Opportunities appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Investing.com - Bitcoin and other major digital coin prices made small gains on Friday in Asia following news that Thailand ’s stock exchange is keen on developing a nationwide digital asset that would include a cryptocurrency exchange.

Plenty of investors looking for industries ripe for disruption have focused on the payments business, but the latest data from Morgan Stanley suggests some digital payment options are gaining traction ...

# Visa Inc
### NYSE:V
View full report here!
## Summary
* Bearish sentiment is moderate and declining
## Bearish sentiment
Short interest | Positive
Short interest is moderate for V with between 5 and 10% of shares outstanding currently on loan. However, this was an improvement in sentiment as investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices reduced their short positions on January 10.
## Money flow
ETF/Index ownership | Neutral
ETF activity is neutral. The net inflows of $7.92 billion over the last one-month into ETFs that hold V are not among the highest of the last year and have been slowing.
## Economic sentiment
PMI by IHS Markit | Neutral
According to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, output in the Financials sector is rising. The rate of growth is weak relative to the trend shown over the past year, however.
## Credit worthiness
Credit default swap
CDS data is not available for this security.
Please send all inquiries related to the report to score@ihsmarkit.com.
Charts and report PDFs will only be available for 30 days after publishing.
This document has been produced for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon or as construed as investment advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IHS Markit disclaims any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), equity or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on or the use of this material in any way. Please view the full legal disclaimer and methodology information on pages 2-3 of the full report.

Professors from seven U.S. colleges including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley have teamed up to create a digital currency that they hope can achieve speeds Bitcoin users can only dream of without compromising on its core tenant of decentralization. The Unit-e, as the virtual currency is called, is the first initiative of Distributed Technology Research, a non-profit foundation formed by the academics with backing from hedge fund Pantera Capital Management LP to develop decentralized technologies. Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and the first payment network to allow parties to transact directly without needing to trust each another or to rely on a central authority.

We're only a few days into earnings season and so far it's a mixed bag. Overall, bank earnings aren't suggesting there was an issue from the consumer side. Those that did poorly were mostly from a result of the Fed or fourth-quarter volatility. That bodes well for credit card companies like American Express (NYSE:AXP). AXP stock will be in the spotlight on Thursday when the company reports its quarterly results after the close.
Currently, analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings of $1.80 per share. If AXP hits this mark, it will represent 13.9% year-over-year (YoY) growth. American Express has beat earnings estimates for seven straight quarters. Worth noting, unlike some bank stocks, estimates haven't come down for AXP. In fact, they have climbed a penny per share over the last 30 days and are flat over the last 90 days. Despite this, the stock has been under pressure.
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On the revenue front, analysts are calling for sales of $10.56 billion in sales, representing a impressive YoY gain of 19.5%. Short of management providing disappointing guidance, it's hard to imagine AXP stock falling should the company beat these estimates.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
### Valuing American Express Stock
Analysts expect American Express to grow sales 20.8% in fiscal 2018 to $40.44 billion. For earnings, they're looking for $7.38 per share, 25.7% YoY. This leaves AXP stock trading at just over 13 times this year's earnings. That's cheaper than both Visa (NYSE:V) and MasterCard (NYSE:MA) -- two stocks that I like very much.
I like V and MA for their consistency. With AXP, there's been a few more bumps in the road. Estimates call for a notable deceleration in growth in 2019, but analysts are still looking for positive results. Expectations call for 7.6% sales growth in fiscal 2019 and 10.2% earnings growth.
13 times earnings is reasonable for double-digit earnings growth in 2018 and 2019, and strong sales growth both years. Last quarter, AXP beat top- and bottom-line expectations, raised guidance and expanded its partnership with the fast-growing PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL).
These are things we like to see from a company. From a fundamental perspective, AXP is attractive, although because of its loaning business, it does not operate solely on the "tollbooth" business like Visa and MasterCard. Online spending and holiday shopping was strong last quarter, which bodes well for all the credit card companies. One worry though? Falling gas prices. While lower gas prices is a boon for consumers, it hurts transaction revenue for companies like V, MA and AXP. Let's see if that impacts the top line this quarter.
### Trading AXP Stock
Shares are up about 10% off the recent lows, as AXP stock has gone from $89 to $98. Near $98, American Express stock has been consolidating nicely over the last few days. It's currently holding up over the 21-day moving average and earnings will decide if the next move is up or down.
So which is it?
A reaction to earnings ahead of the announcement is impossible to predict. But we can look at a few key levels to consider. For instance, on the downside, we have the 21-day just below current prices at $96.78. That's a little too close to expect it to hold as support. However, $95 has been notable and could stand up as support should AXP stock come under pressure. The last line in the sand comes down near $89 to $90. This mark has held up throughout 2018 and I would expect it to now, provided something horrible doesn't come from the quarter.
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On the upside, The $100 to $102 level has been significant and may act as resistance going forward. It doesn't help that the 200-day is at $101 and the 50-day is just under $103. However, a 5% pop would clear AXP stock over all of these levels and make it an enticing post-earnings entry for bulls should the stock close above these levels.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long V.
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The post Should You Buy American Express Stock Before Earnings? appeared first on InvestorPlace.

How to Invest Like Jeff Bezos: The Top Three Sectors to Watch(Continued from Prior Part)Jeff Bezos’s investmentsIn the previous article, we looked at the three sectors in which the world’s richest person, Jeff Bezos, has invested through his

As part of its ongoing commitment to support female entrepreneurs, Visa (NYSE:V) is launching a global initiative – She’s Next, Empowered by Visa – to encourage women small business owners as they build, sustain and advance their businesses. The global rate of female entrepreneurship has been increasing more quickly than that of male entrepreneurs,1 with more than 163 million women around the world starting a business since 20142.

# Visa Inc
### NYSE:V
View full report here!
## Summary
* ETFs holding this stock are seeing positive inflows
* Bearish sentiment is moderate and declining
## Bearish sentiment
Short interest | Positive
Short interest is moderate for V with between 5 and 10% of shares outstanding currently on loan. However, this was an improvement in sentiment as investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices reduced their short positions on January 10.
## Money flow
ETF/Index ownership | Positive
ETF activity is positive. Over the last month, growth of ETFs holding V is favorable, with net inflows of $18.47 billion. This is among the highest net inflows seen over the last one-year and the rate of additional inflows appears to be increasing.
## Economic sentiment
PMI by IHS Markit | Neutral
According to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, output in the Financials sector is rising. The rate of growth is weak relative to the trend shown over the past year, however.
## Credit worthiness
Credit default swap
CDS data is not available for this security.
Please send all inquiries related to the report to score@ihsmarkit.com.
Charts and report PDFs will only be available for 30 days after publishing.
This document has been produced for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon or as construed as investment advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IHS Markit disclaims any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), equity or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on or the use of this material in any way. Please view the full legal disclaimer and methodology information on pages 2-3 of the full report.

Visa Inc. said Friday that it had hired Square Inc. executive Mary Kay Bowman as head of seller solutions. At Visa, Bowman will drive the design, develop and delivery of new services and will report to Chief Product Officer Jack Forestell.